The Gift of Good
December 06, 2006
Smart ways to reward both recipients and charities this holiday season
By A.E. Smith
During the season of giving, even people who work on gifting programs all year long can look to offer something extra. Finding ways to make your rewards program benefit more than recipients is a great way to give it relevance that extends beyond the end recipients. Incorporating charitable giving into incentive campaigns is a great idea, but one that companies need to consider carefully. "What the best companies have figured out is how to choose carefully these causes that really support the values of their organization," says Hal Adler, executive director of the Great Place to Work Institute.
One of the most visible campaigns this season that combines merchandise offers and charitable support is (PRODUCT)RED, a campaign co-created by U2 front man Bono to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund, an organization that provides relief to women and children affected by AIDS in Africa. Big-name brands including the Gap, American Express, Motorola and Apple have signed on, offering RED-inspired products, and contributing a portion of their income from these products to The Global Fund.
But incorporating promotional products in incentive merchandise programs can be challenging. Often the products are only available for a limited time or in limited quantities, aspects that don't work well with programs that need to be planned long in advance and with a substantial inventory. Additionally, consumer promotions like the (PRODUCT)RED campaign are not always available to the corporate market. Mary Pat Kilmer, director of network sales for merchandise reseller Incentive Concepts, says that though her company has had requests from clients interested in getting the RED iPod, she has had to direct them to Apple's retail stores or Web site. "We are only able to pass along consumer promotions if our factories [offer them] direct to us. Many times we have to explain that those are consumer promotions, not available to the premium and incentive industry."
 "We are supportive of anything that would support a certain charity, but on the other hand you're also selective," says Mike Horn, director of merchandising for Hinda Incentives. "I would use a product that would fit for us if I had control of the program, otherwise it wouldn't be fair to all the parties involved."
Companies that shop for gifts online should check out Giftback.com, a new Web site started by Harris Beber and Ken Schiliro that gives 10 percent of profits to charities. What differentiates the site is that customers can choose which organization their patronage will benefit from a long list of philanthropies, more than 200 currently, all of which have received a 4-star rating or above from charity oversight organization Charity Navigator. "We wanted to give our customers the opportunity to support causes that were important to the customer or the recipient," says Beber.
Giftback.com offers a range of product categories including flowers, gift baskets and gourmet and gifts include those from Geoff & Drew's, Teleflora, The Fruit Company and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Prices are not marked up from their retail value and all recipients receive a receipt that lets them know which charity was supported.
For something that will bring your team together while giving back, Impact 4 Good, a corporate teambuilding organizer that specializes in community service events, has partnered with the St. Tammany West chapter of Habitat for Humanity to design a teambuilding activity that benefits Hurricane Katrina victims. The event is suitable for groups from 20 people to 300 and can take place in any meeting space. Groups are broken into teams, given a budget to buy materials and then compete to build a list of home accessories—everything from a place to stash the mail to a hook for hanging keys. "There are many companies that would love to do Habitat, but they might not have the time or the means to transport everybody out to a site," says Alan Ranzer, Impact 4 Good's executive director.
|
RSS
